


the one i want (out loud)

by paperrings (Vermilion_Blues)



Category: Dreamwastaken, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF, dreamteam - Fandom, mcyt
Genre: Crushes, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff With Happy Ending, Happy Ending, It's all happy, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Oblivious, Still happy tho, They're stupid your honor, and there was only one bed, bad is tired and he's not even dealing with george n dream directly, based on different ways i've realized i was in love w people, first chapter is short but it picks up don't worry, fluff with plot, full of fanfic tropes, got surprisingly sapnap centric, huh that's more angst than i intended, maybe like a single droplet of angst for plot but not a lot, sapnap is tired, though the pov switches multiple times tbh, universe where everything is the same except george can fly from england to texas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27367900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vermilion_Blues/pseuds/paperrings
Summary: Dream doesn't know when he fell for George.George knows exactly when he fell for Dream.Sapnap just wants his friends to tell each other.(or: dream and george are painfully in love. sapnap may have a plan.)
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap, GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Zak Ahmed & Darryl Noveschosch
Comments: 138
Kudos: 740





	1. by your electric

**Author's Note:**

> this was going to be a one shot with me projecting ways i've realized i was in love with others but then it just kept going and now we're here  
> also it was supposed to be dream centric but then my love for sapnap came through and his pov filled like three chapters so

Dream didn’t know when he realized he was in love with his best friend. 

There wasn’t much of a realization, no sudden moment of clarity. It was just a fact. 

He thinks he officially put a name to it on one of their late night calls, as he sleepily listened to George ramble about whatever coding project he had been working on at the time. He remembers the feeling of pure contentment that seemed to have spread all the way into his bones, a smile growing on his face as he just listened. He remembers the word  _ crush  _ passing through his head at home point, but it didn’t come as a shock to him. Thinking that one word had seemed to slip everything together perfectly, filling a part of him that he hadn’t realized was empty.

George kept talking, and Dream listened. As always.

\---

He never particularly tried to keep his emotions shoved down or away from anyone. Sure, he never told anyone about the warmth that bloomed in his chest whenever anyone mentioned George, but he wasn’t trying to be sneaky about it. He was almost surprised that George himself hadn’t found out yet. 

This was why, when on a call with Sapnap after a recording, he wasn’t surprised when he was called out.

“So, I was thinking, we could make another plugin similar to the blackhole one, but instead of a blackhole-”

“You like George.”

Dream glanced at his screen. “Yup. Anyways, instead of a blackhole-”

“No, no- you  _ like-like  _ George, dude. Like actually.”

Dream just blinked at Sapnap. 

“I am well aware.”

Sapnap just stared at the camera, eyes wide and unbelieving.

“And you never told me?” He shouted, fondly, throwing his hands up in the air. Dream laughed in response, shrugging his shoulders as a smile fell over his face.

“Haven’t really told anyone. It’s not like I’m trying to hide it, though.”

“Dude…” Sapnap blinked at him. “So when are you going to tell him?”

Dream frowned, tilting his head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“...You are going to tell him, right?”

Dream shook his head, “Why would I?”

Sapnap’s eyebrows were ruffled in confusion, and he leaned forwards into his seat. “Don’t you… I don’t know, want a relationship or something? Or at least know how he feels about you?”

Dream smiled into his camera, “I’ve never really thought of a relationship. I’m happy with our friendship, and the other feelings are just a bonus, you know?”

Sapnap leaned back into his chair. “No, I don’t know. What the hell dude.”

Dream just snorted, “Anyways, instead of a blackhole, what if it was a  _ whitehole- _ ”

\---

The conversation he had with Sapnap seemed to have planted a seed of a potential relationship into his brain, something that he had never even considered before. Why should he have? George lived on the other side of the ocean, had said he was straight, and Dream loved their friendship too much to even think of changing it. A relationship with the other never even appeared in his mind as a possibility- but now that it was there, the thought had burrowed and sprouted into a giant cloud over his head, reminding him of its existence constantly. Dream tried telling himself why he didn’t want a relationship, but his thoughts would just bat away any attempt he had at suppressing the new weight in his head. 

The worst part, though, about the new thoughts in his head, were that they were trying to give him hope. All the reasons that had seemed so clear to Dream previously on why a relationship wasn’t an option were all suddenly being rebuked by his brain, logical or not.

He lives in the UK- _ long distance relationships are a thing. _

He’s said he was straight-  _ on stream, but never to you. _

Even if he hadn’t said it to Dream, there’s no reason for him to suspect that he isn’t straight-  _ remember when he told you that he was questioning his sexuality, back in highschool? _

Okay, okay, even if all of these things are true, there’s still no reason to suspect that George would actually feel the same way in return-  _ do you see the way he looks at you?  _

This hope was a different kind of warmth, like a fire. It was pleasant against his skin and he occasionally found himself indulging in it, but if he leaned too far in, he would get burned. No matter what his brain whispered to him, he couldn’t stop the burning pain of logic from ripping the hope apart, time and time again.

This wasn’t fun anymore. He wasn’t feeling the glow of a puppy crush in his heart anymore. He was feeling the ripping pains of pure, deep longing for something that he couldn’t have, for a friend who would never love him back in the same way. His emotions fought in his heart and brain, leaving him feeling burning hot and freezing cold when he laid alone in bed at night. The only thing that seemed to truly help was distraction, and Dream found himself streaming more, talking to friends, coding more, going out, anything that would stop him from feeling the icy burn of being alone. It worked for a short time, but whenever he would turn off his lights to go to sleep, it was waiting for him like an old friend. 

He felt solace in how his relationship with George hadn’t changed, despite the changes in his head. He continued to talk to the other, the burn softening when they were speaking to each other, whether recording, streaming, or not. Sometimes Dream would feel words in his throat, attempting to push themselves up to the surface, to lay out everything he had been feeling, but he was always able to swallow them down with a laugh. Talking to George was a double edged sword, where he felt like he was on Cloud 9 when talking to him, but then like he had slammed back on to the Earth as soon as the other hung up. There was a part of his brain that hissed in guilt and shame whenever he thought of George, but there was another part of his brain that hissed whenever he tried to shove down his thoughts of George. 

Despite the pain, Dream consistently did anything he could to make George happy, talking to him at night, joining him on streams, and joking in front of their friends and fans about their _ ‘love’  _ for each other.

Maybe he was an emotional masochist, if such a thing even existed. He snorted to himself, the thought coming out of nowhere, as he continued editing a new video for his channel. 

He was on a call with Sapnap and George, as usual, and they had fallen into a comfortable silence. He didn’t think that his laugh was loud enough to be picked up by his mic, until he heard an amused, “What’s so funny?” come from his headphones.

Dream chuckled louder, sitting back and stretching. “Nothing, just a stupid thought I had.”

There was silence for a moment as he leaned to the side to grab his water bottle, taking a swig. 

“Are you going to tell us what the thought was?” George had asked, a smile in his voice. His voice was much quieter and softer than how it was on streams, a different side to him than the one his fans knew. 

“Oh.” Dream leaned back in his chair, holding his water bottle. He hesitated for a moment. “Do you think that emotional masochists are a thing?”

The call went silent for a moment.

“Dream, that’s called a humiliation kink.” 

George and Dream burst out laughing at Sapnap, who was completely deadpan and serious. 

“Wait- no- that’s not what I meant!” Dream laughed out in between wheezes. 

“What the fuck Dream?” George laughed, at the same time that Sapnap continued with, “Is this you telling us you have a humiliation kink?”

Their laughter only increased as they heard a thump from Dream’s mic as his laughter went faint, and realized he fell on the floor. 

“Why the HELL would I tell you-” Dream took a few more deep breaths, sitting himself back up on the chair. A few more wheezes broke through, but he was finally able to calm down. 

“I’m never sharing my thoughts ever again, oh my god.”

“Wait, no-” That was George, and the fake panic in his voice brought back another round of wheezing and laughter from the boys.

“Okay, but really,” Sapnap continued, once the group had finally calmed down slightly, “What  _ did  _ you mean by that? Because I genuinely can’t think of any other way to take it.”

“I meant-” Dream paused, trying to collect his thoughts. He could technically talk about the real reason he had been thinking about emotional masochism, but considering that George was listening, he didn’t think that it would be the best idea. He didn’t even want to mention that he was thinking of another person, because while George wouldn’t know that it was him, Dream had read enough fanfic to know that it would come out, eventually. 

“I... honestly, I don’t know what I meant- but it wasn’t  _ that _ !”

Sapnap and George snickered a bit more, before falling back into their comfortable silence. Dream could hear the other two continue whatever they were working on, but he just sat back, thinking. 

He had been content with crushing on George from a distance for months, and then one short conversation from Sapnap somehow completely changed his perspective on everything. It was as if he had been living in denial, telling himself that he didn’t want a relationship, but Sapnap broke down the lies he had unknowingly built up. He had adored George for so long that he didn’t know how to not, his puppy crush becoming an important part of his relationship with the other.

And there was the issue, he thought. Puppy crush. He had held onto these feelings of a crush and adoration for so long that he was still using them to describe what he was feeling now, even though it was different. He knew it was different, and he finally used the word he had been trying for so long to avoid, a word that seemed to make everything so much more serious.

It wasn’t a puppy crush anymore, and he had to admit that to himself. It hadn’t been a puppy crush for a long, long time. 

This was love, the deep, serious type. 

This was love, the type that burned in his heart and spread through his veins. 

This was love, and he was being consumed.

This was love.


	2. do you notice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George knew the exact moment when he realized he was in love with his best friend.  
> Unfortunately, he was live.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i know i uploaded the first part of this literally like 3 hours ago BUT HI I'M BAAACK  
> also all the comments on this story are making my heart go <3<3<3

George knew the exact moment he realized that he had a crush on his best friend.

He had been streaming, which is never a good time for life changing revelations, and he had been in a call with both Dream and Sapnap, as usual. 

They were all playing together, though George was the only one streaming, and George remembers turning from his screen to look at his donations, when he heard Dream let out a loud wheeze. His eyes flickered to his screen, and he watched as his character was punched into a ravine, the death screen showing up. George’s eyes flickered back to his other monitor, where he had the TeamSpeak pulled up, and a large smile grew on his face as he watched Dream’s icon light up in time with his laughs.

_ God _ , he thought,  _ I really, really love him. _

The realization slammed into him like a brick wall, making him choke on his own spit, bending over in his chair as he coughed. Dream and Sapnap continued laughing, seemingly spurred on by George’s coughing fit.

Eventually, George’s coughing subsided, and Dream and Sapnap stopped laughing as well.

“Are-” George heard Dream wheeze quietly once more, “are you okay, dude?”

“Yeah,” George replied, voice rough as he straightened himself back up in his chair. “Yeah, I’m good, wow.”

George was almost glad that he had coughed so hard, giving him an excuse for his bright red face and rough voice. In reality, he was mentally freaking  _ the fuck _ out, barely keeping his thoughts at bay. George was, contrary to what his fans believed, generally good at keeping his thoughts hidden, even if he couldn’t keep his cheeks from flushing red at the smallest compliment. 

He had seen the videos, the clips, the gifs of him going red after Dream complimented him, but it had always been a joke, part of the bit, part of the friendship that he and Dream had. It never meant anything to George, it never meant anything to Dream.

It had never meant anything.

_Fuck_.

George felt an emotion that he couldn’t name rising within him, negative and thick, when he realized that he had gone silent on stream. Dream and Sapnap had continued talking through the few moments that he had gone through these realizations, so he assumed that they didn’t notice anything, but his chat was asking why his face had fallen.

He straightened himself in his chair, slapping a smile on his face, and continued playing Minecraft with his best friends.

It wasn’t until he had hung up, ending the stream, that he realized what the emotion was.

Shame. 

\---

Unlike Dream, who didn’t try to mask his feelings, George buried them deep in his brain, hidden in the back with all the other things he didn’t think about, like his sexuality and his deepest insecurities.

Unfortunately, his new infatuation didn’t disappear as easily as the other things, and it even brought some of the older topics with it. Suddenly, he would hear Dream’s laughter on repeat in his head, the stupid flirting jokes burrowing themselves into his heart, making everything more sensitive than it would’ve been previously. He started using his facecam less as he realized that his cheeks and expressions were constantly trying to betray him, causing fans to wonder what had changed. He laughed out excuses when asked, saying that he was sick, that he hadn’t showered recently, or that he just didn’t feel like it, but after a couple of weeks, his excuses started to run thin. He still used his facecam occasionally, but whenever Dream was in the call, he always had a reason for why it wasn’t on. 

Of course, the fans were going crazy with theories for why George rarely used his facecam anymore, with theories going from him having hickies to him hiring someone else to play for him to him being absolutely, deeply in love with his best friend, all of which were ridiculous.

Well.

Most of which were ridiculous. 

Still, his fans had started to worry and wonder, and unfortunately, when you share a fanbase with two other people, the questions are asked to more than just you.

Which is why George, despite knowing that it was past 1AM in Texas, wasn’t surprised when Sapnap texted him asking about it.

_ George: vc? _

_ Sapnap: yeah one sec _

George waited for the other to call him, setting up his mic and camera and running a hand through his hair. Finally, he answered the incoming call, and Sapnap’s face popped up on the other side. 

“First of all,” George began, “You should be asleep.”

“Funny, coming from you.” Sapnap rolled his eyes at the other. “What’s up with the facecam thing? People are blowing up my donations.”

George winced slightly. “Sorry about that, I wish they wouldn’t bother you guys.”

Sapnap snorted. “Hey, at least I’m getting money for it.”

George chuckled, looking down.

A beat of silence passed between the two. 

“So?” Sapnap asked, causing George’s head to snap up.

“Oh, uh,” George laughed nervously, “It’s really not that big of a deal. You know how our fans are, I don’t have my facecam on for one stream and they all freak out.”

George rolled his eyes, slapping what he hoped was a casual smile on his face, but, judging by Sapnap’s expression, wasn’t.

“So, what’s the actual reason?” Sapnap’s voice was monotone. 

He let the smile drop from his face, knowing damn well that his friend wasn’t buying his excuse. Rolling his eyes with a huff, he looked back at his screen.

“That is the reason.”

“Okay,” Sapnap relented, leaning back in his chair. “If you don’t want to tell me, that’s fine. But you do know I wouldn’t care, right?”

George snorted. “You make it seem like it’s some big, serious mystery. It’s not like I’m hiding a secret love or anything.”

George suddenly froze as Sapnap snapped back up towards his camera. 

“Oh? Very specific example, George.”

George felt the red creeping up his face, and he wished that he hadn’t turned on his facecam for this call, as the exact thing he was trying to avoid was exposing him.

“I’m not going to force you into saying anything, George.” Sapnap sighed after a moment of silence. “Just know I’m here for you if you need it.”

George dropped his eyes from his friend on screen, feeling torn. On one hand, he desperately wanted to bury these feelings deep in his brain, determined to forget it, but on the other hand, talking about it might be nice.

There were a couple more moments of silence, before a slight sigh fell from Sapnap’s lips. 

“I’m going to go now, if that’s okay. I probably should get some sleep.”

George remained silent, thinking.

“Goodnight, George.” Sapnap moved to hang up when George spoke, a single word filling the silence.

“Dream.”

Sapnap blinked. “What?”

“It’s Dream.” George refused to make eye contact with the other, refused to even look at the screen. “Goodnight, Sapnap.” 

George hung up, burying his head in his hands and groaning.

Across an ocean, thousands of miles away, Sapnap stared at his screen in slight shock.

_ Well _ , he thought, _ this is going to be interesting. _


	3. put my name in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sapnap is tired. Bad is tired. Skeppy is tired. Everyone is tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahaha i'm back fuckers  
> please keep commenting i love you guys so much and when you comment more than once my heart explodes  
> i dont usually respond to comments bc i dont want to give anything away but if yall have questions abt me or something then ask away

As is normal when two people have crushes on each other, Dream and George spent the next few weeks dancing around each other, much to Sapnap’s annoyance. He hadn’t spoken to George privately since that night, the older boy seemingly trying his best to avoid him, and as far as he knew, Dream didn’t even want to try and have a relationship with the other.

Sapnap sighed, pressing his hands to his eyes. Both of his friends were idiots, refusing to even look at each other in a light slightly different than friendship.

He needed backup. 

_ Sapnap: hey are you free rn _

_ Bad: yeah! what’s up :)? _

_ Sapnap: our friends are fucking idiots _

_ Bad: Language! _

_ Bad: and... what? _

_ Sapnap: vc? _

By the time the call had ended, Bad, Sapnap, and Skeppy (who had joined halfway through due to the insistence of Bad) had a rough idea of what they needed to do.

The plan was to get Dream and George to meet, in person, for the first time, and hope that through some means they figured their shit out. 

Step 1, of course, was to get the two of them to actually meet in person, which normally wouldn’t be too big of an issue, but the world was in the middle of a global pandemic, and Dream had also just revealed to his fans that the meetup vlog wasn’t real. 

Bad and Sapnap had sat in silence for a while, trying desperately to think of a way to get the two to visit each other without being strange, when Sapnap had a breakthrough. 

Now, he only had to hope that this plan actually worked.

\---

“This episode, we coded it so we are being followed by a white hole, which, unlike the blackhole, throws blocks at us. Will we be able to beat the game? This was insane! Also, only a small percentage of people who-”

Sapnap let Dream’s voice fade into the background, thinking over his plan for the tenth time since they had started recording. He had to make his idea seem casual, and he also had to make sure that they actually reached The End. 

Finally, Dream had finished his spiel, and they were off, running from the white circle behind them and collecting wood.

The recording was normal, the group having surprisingly good luck. Finally, they were standing outside of the End portal, and Sapnap took the first step of his plan

“I bet I’ll be the one to kill the dragon.”

He could almost hear the other two straighten up in their seats, their competitive natures perking up at the idea of a bet.

“Oh yeah?” Dream asked. “And what if you don’t?”

Sapnap smiled. The plan was going perfectly.

“What about…” Sapnap pretended to think, grinning widely. “Whoever kills the dragon gets to force the other two to do something.”

“Deal.” Dream answered almost immediately. “George?”

They both heard George sigh, before, “Sure.”

Now, the most important part of the plan was for Sapnap to win this bet. 

“Everyone ready?”

Dream jumped in the portal without responding, causing the other two to yell out in alarm before jumping in next to him.

The fight was normal, the only issue being the white hole spawning next to them when they landed in The End, causing a rushed panic to get as far away as possible.

Sapnap was almost regretting his bet, as Dream was expertly attacking the dragon, getting its health down, when the white hole appeared behind Dream and, much to the delight of Sapnap, covered him in blocks, trapping him and keeping him from landing the final hit.

Sapnap sprinted his character across the island, punching George who had the same idea as him, and finally, finally, landed the final hit on the dragon.

_ Sapnap has completed the achievement [Free The End]. _

“YES!” Sapnap yelled out, laughing as he heard Dream yelling in the background.

“NOOOO! SAPNAP YOU LITTLE-”

There was a friendly argument as Dream began chasing Sapnap around in-game, trying to kill him. Finally, Dream got a good hit on Sapnap, killing him and sending him back to their spawn. 

Sapnap was still wheezing when George and Dream showed up next to him, and was barely calm when they ended the recording. 

“So-” He started, laughing again. “I guess I won the bet, huh?”

He had a shit eating grin on his face, obvious from his voice alone, and it just grew when he heard Dream groan.

“So what do I want you two to do?” He asked, feigning innocence and ignorance. He paused for a moment longer, trying to figure out the wording he was going to use, listening, amused, when Dream huffed in annoyance.. George was snickering on his end of the call, waiting for Sapnap’s decision.

“I already have my Twitter open,” Dream said dryly. “So whenever you decide what you want me to post-”

“I want you both to come to Texas.” Sapnap interrupted.

The call went silent. 

“I’m being serious!” Sapnap felt his voice crack slightly. This was all part of the plan to get the two idiots he called his best friends together, but he would be lying if he said that he didn’t want to hangout with them too. Getting them together would be the main objective, but he also wanted to see his closest friends in person. So when the silence stretched on for a bit longer, Sapnap felt a bit of anxiety crawl up his throat.

“Like…” Dream finally asked, “Like, this week?”

Sapnap winced slightly. “Well, the sooner the better, obviously. I want both of you here at the same time.” This was getting too vulnerable for him, too vulnerable for what was originally just supposed to be him acting as a wingman. The silence stretched on, and he began to ramble. 

“It doesn’t matter though. Texas has basically no restrictions on travel, so it should be fine for you guys getting in. We have no social lives outside of each other anyways, so it’s not like quarantine would be hard, and jet lag can only make our sleeping schedules better. I just want to actually meet you guys in person, and if this isn’t going to work then I can choose something else I want you guys to do for the bet, but I would like an answer soon-”

George made a noise that sounded like a computer rebooting, interrupting Sapnap’s ramble.

“Wait, wait, wait. Like, actually?” George asked. Sapnap looked at his computer, dumbfounded.

“Yes, you fucking idiot!”

“Uh…” George still sounded like his brain hadn’t fully caught up. “Yeah, I’d love that? I’d love that!”

Sapnap snorted in response, relief filling him, as Dream wheezed. 

“Yeah, I should be able to do that, when are we all free?”

Sapnap smiled at the feeling of warmth filling him, as the other two spoke about weeks that they were free, and if any lined up. 

Sure, Dream and George might be absolutely, stupidly in love with each other, but they were all best friends before that, and goddamn him if Sapnap let this budding relationship change anything in their friendship. 

\---

To say George was freaking out would be an understatement. 

He was able to keep it mostly under control, making small talk with his Uber driver as he was on his way to the airport, chatting about how he was going to visit some friends in America, and how excited he was. 

He was dropped off an hour before his flight left, and the extra time that he spent sitting in the terminal just increased his anxiety.

He was going to meet his two closest friends, for the first time, and not only that, but he was going to see Dream’s face, also for the first time,  _ in person.  _ He shifted slightly in his chair, wondering if Dream was having similar thoughts in Florida.

_ Probably not _ , he thought.  _ Dream’s usually pretty calm. _

He opened Twitter, trying to distract himself from his rising anxiety while waiting for his flight to be ready. He scrolled through his feed, liking memes and fanart that he was sent, when he realized that Dream had tweeted. He went to the other’s profile, seeing a vague tweet that would, no doubt, cause chaos in their fans.

_ Dream @dream _

_ Won’t be able to stream for a little bit, I’ve got a plane to catch ;) @georgenotfound @sapnap _

George rolled his eyes at his friend, not even looking at the replies as he knew it would just be mindless screaming. The three of them hadn’t specified to keep this visit quiet from their fans, as they knew it would inevitably get out anyways, but neither Sapnap nor George had mentioned it on their streams or Twitter accounts. 

_ George @georgenotfound _

_ Replying to @dream @sapnap _

🙄🙄🙄🙄

George chuckled as he posted his own tweet, closing his phone as he knew that his notifications were about to explode. Luckily, by that time his flight was finally ready to be boarded, and he grabbed his bag and walked onto the flight, preparing for the next 10 hours to be spent in the air.

\---

Luckily, he slept through most of it, and watched movies when he couldn’t, and 12 hours after he had left his house that morning, he was finally stepping into the hot Texas air. 

He had made plans with Sapnap and Dream to meet him here, Dream arriving first due to being much closer than George was. As George stretched, popping a couple bones, he realized that they had never created a designated meeting point for the three of them, and that the airport was surprisingly big. 

_ What is it with you americans _ , George thought somewhat bitterly,  _ making everything bigger than it needs to be? _

He wandered around for a couple minutes, trying to find his friends, before he sighed to himself and pulled out his phone. He was a bit annoyed at past-George for not thinking about the situation he was now in as he texted Sapnap, asking him where the hell he was. His stomach grumbled, hungry despite the food that he had eaten on the plane. Despite it being around 2 in the afternoon in Texas, his brain was convinced that it was past 8, and he hadn’t eaten a full meal since 7 that morning. His phone buzzed in his hand while his eyes scanned the options for food around him, debating whether he should get a full meal or just a snack to hold him over until he ate with Sapnap and Dream. 

He glanced down at his phone, standing off to the side in a hallway, and saw a text from Sapnap.

_ Sapnap: we see you!!! _

George’s tired eyes squinted at the message, head looking up and around him as he looked for his friends. 

Suddenly, a large force slammed into him from behind, throwing him off balance and sending him to the floor, along with whatever had hit him. He heard a familiar wheeze from behind him, and he rolled over on the ground to come to face to face with Sapnap who was practically straddling him. 

“George!” He yelled, excited.

George glanced back behind Sapnap, eyes landing on Dream who was bracing himself on the wall to keep himself from falling from the force of his laughter. George felt a small blush grow on his face as he rolled his eyes, pushing Sapnap off of him and sitting up, rubbing his arm where he had hit it awkwardly on the ground.

Despite having just been tackled in an airport in a different country, he already knew that his face was stretched into a stupid smile as he looked at the other two. 

Finally, Dream turned and they locked eyes.

George wouldn’t describe it as fireworks exploding, or like everything had suddenly fit into place around him, because his reaction to finally seeing Dream, the man who he had undeniably, deeply fallen for, just felt… right.

The glimmer in Dream’s eyes, the dimples on his face, his smattering of freckles on sun tanned cheeks, it all brought a sense of pure calm to George, and so he sat and just drank it in.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have very long, as less than a moment had passed before Dream was also launching himself onto the floor in order to hug George.

George, fully aware that it was coming this time, allowed himself to be pushed down and have arms wrapped around him, hugging tightly in return. He realized that Sapnap was laughing, having already stood up, and he playfully glared at him while still focusing on the man in his arms. Finally, Dream pulled back, standing up and helping George, before just standing there, hands on George’s shoulders, looking at him.

George felt himself slowly start to heat up, his cheeks turning pink at the smile that Dream was giving him, and how Dream’s eyes moved across his face like he wanted to absorb every detail.

Sapnap coughed after a moment, causing the other two to jump apart, both glaring in embarrassment. Sapnap was looking away, a perfect picture of faux innocence, before smiling at the other two when they finally separated.

“Come on!” He laughed, grabbing George’s arm and pulling him while Dream followed.

George just felt the grin on his face grow more, laughter bubbling out from his throat as he allowed himself to be tugged forward. 

Wait-

“Sapnap, my luggage!” 

Step 1 was complete.


	4. you were out of

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sapnap: this couch has bed bugs  
> Dream: the couch.......... that you're currently laying on........ has bedbugs.  
> Sapnap: .....................yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and there was  
> ONLY  
> ONE  
> BED

Eventually, after finally collecting all of George’s luggage and avoiding Sapnap’s consistent desire to stop in every airport shop and buy something, the three had finally managed to get back to Sapnap’s apartment.

George was barely paying attention during the tour, making a mental note of where the bathroom was and not much else. There was only one guest room, with, of course, only one bed, and so George began to set his stuff up in the living room next to the couch.

“What’re you doing?” Sapnap asked as he put his stuff down. George looked at him, quirking an eyebrow. 

“Dream’s stuff was already set up in the guest room, so unless you have another bed hidden in here, I’m assuming that I’m going to be sleeping on the couch.”

Sapnap blinked. Part 2 of the plan was to make them spend as much time together as possible, and that included at night. 

“No!” He said, pausing when both Dream and George shot him a confused look. He pushed himself in front of George, throwing himself on the couch. “You can’t sleep here- there’s- there’s…. Bedbugs!”

“There’s bedbugs.” Dream repeated, monotone, from across the room. “On the couch that you’re currently laying on.”

Well, it was too late to back down now. 

“Yes.” Sapnap put as much conviction into his voice as possible, staring Dream in the eyes.

“Okay,” George deadpanned, causing Sapnap’s eyes to flicker up to him. “So, what’s your plan for where we’re going to sleep?”

Sapnap had read enough fanfiction to know the perfect answer to this question.

“The bed in the guest room is large enough for the both of you!” He said with a shit-eating grin. Both boys sputtered at him, faces growing slightly red as they realized what he was trying to make them do, but there was no way to call him out on it without revealing more than they wanted to. 

“But-” George started right as Dream said “Sap!” causing the two of them to look at each other and then away again, growing even more red. 

“I don’t see what the issue is!” Sapnap said, the same grin on his face as he knew they had fallen right into his trap.

“I didn’t even know couches could  _ get  _ bedbugs-” George grumbled out, locking eyes with Sapnap, who looked at him with innocence.

“Why would I lie about that, George? What benefit do I get from forcing my two best friends to sleep in the same bed together?”

_ Don’t you fucking dare- _ both of the other boys yelled in their head, glaring at Sapnap.

“Besides.” Sapnap continued, standing up, “As long as you keep your socks on, it’s not gay.”

He smiled at the other two, George looking like he was about to start steaming from his ears, while Dream just looked like he wanted to hide in a hole and never come out, before turning into his kitchen. 

“What do you guys want for dinner? I can make something or we can order out.” The smile was still obvious on his face. 

\---

_ The little shit! _

George was still steaming from Sapnap’s actions almost two hours later, anger bubbling down to more annoyance as he finally had gotten food into his body. Despite it being midafternoon in Texas, the british boy felt himself slowly nodding off as the other two argued over what to do next. He didn’t think it was too obvious, until his head snapped up after falling and he realized the other two had gone silent. He glanced at the other two slightly embarrassed, and Sapnap just snorted at him. 

“Do you need to go to bed, George?” He asked, voice only slightly teasing. 

George glared at him, still exhausted. “No.” He grumbled out, turning away from the other two as they started talking again, shooting occasional glances at George as he once again began to fall asleep at the table. 

George woke up after an unknown amount of time to a slight pulling on his sleeve. He turned and saw Dream trying to guide him to bed, but instead of standing, his sleep-addled brain decided that the best option would be to faceplant directly into Dream’s chest. The tugging on his sleeve stopped as he melted into the warmth in front of him, hand coming to rest next to his head. He could vaguely hear voices coming from above him and behind him, but didn’t realize anything was happening until he felt warm arms wrap around him. 

“George.” Dream said, rumbles from his voice spreading warmth through George’s body. George just grumbled back.

“George, I’m going to pick you up, okay?” George just grumbled again, not realizing what was happening until he felt himself get lifted. His eyes opened, confused for only a moment until he felt himself get pressed into Dream’s chest, warmth spreading again. He wrapped his arms around the man holding him, burying his face into the warm crook of Dream’s neck. His breath was slowing down again as he slowly fell back asleep in Dream’s arms, the smell of sandalwood and beaches surrounding him as he nuzzled deeper into the warm arms. He hadn’t even realized they had moved until he was being deposited onto a bed, warmth leaving him. His eyes stayed shut as he reached out a hand in front of him, moving it around until he was able to grasp soft clothing in his hands, tugging it towards him all of his sleep-induced strength. 

He thought he heard a slight chuckle, but all thoughts left his head as he felt the bed drip down next to him, and a warm hand carding through his hair. His grip on the clothing softened as he continued to relax, slipping away as he finally fell back asleep, feeling perfectly content. 

\---

Dream smiled as George’s hand finally relaxed from where it was bunched in his hoodie, and he moved the other’s hand back to the bed and covered him with the comforter, moving slowly so as to not accidentally wake the other, though he seemed to be in deep sleep.

Dream smiled as he watched the smaller boy sleep under him, face falling into relaxation and breathing evening out. 

He stood up from the bed, pausing as George shifted but luckily remained asleep, and walked towards the open door. He put his hand on the door frame and looked over his shoulder at the sleeping boy behind him, smile growing fond. 

When he turned back around, closing the door behind him, he jumped as he found Sapnap’s face inches from his own, letting out an embarrassing yelp. 

He took a moment to catch his breath after realizing that it was just, infact, Sapnap in front of him, glaring at the smaller boy who only grinned back.

“What?” Dream snapped.

“Oh, nothing!” Sapnap continued staring at Dream, who was slowly getting more annoyed and unnerved at the look on Sapnap’s face. Sapnap’s eyes were flickering across his face, seemingly looking for something.

After a couple moments of staring and smiling, Sapnap finally backed away from the taller boy, looking pleased with whatever he had seen.

He stretched his arms above his head, smiling as he cracked his back and turned towards the living room.

“It’s somewhat late.” Sapnap started, glancing around. “There’s not really much to do. We could play minecraft or watch a movie or something.” His hands had come to rest crossed on his chest as he turned to look at Dream.

“I don’t really want to wake up George with our screaming,” Sapnap snorted at Dream’s remark, “So I guess we could watch a movie or just hang out.”

Sapnap nodded. “We had lunch a couple of hours ago, but I can order some pizza or something for dinner if you’re hungry?”

Dream nodded, and Sapnap tossed him the remote while he grabbed his phone. “Pick a good movie.”

Dream rolled his eyes and snickered at the other.

\---

Sapnap had walked out of the room to make the pizza call, and he was glad he had done so as he looked down and saw that Bad and Skeppy had messaged him in their private “dreamnotfound plan” discord.

_ Bad: how’s it going?? _

_ Skep: oh did george land already _

_ Bad: yeah he was supposed to arrive today _

_ Bad: sapnap _

_ Bad: saaaapnaaaaap _

_ Skep: he’s probably busy keeping dream and george off of each other lmao _

_ Sapnap: unfortunately not yet _

_ Sapnap: but i am making them share a bed _

_ Skep: what is this _

_ Skep: a fanfic _

_ Sapnap: im trying to get my two best friends to stop being idiots and get together which sounds like a fanfic on its own  _

_ Sapnap: so if i want to use some stupid tropes to make it more entertaining for me i think its perfectly fine if i do so _

_ Sapnap: anyways george is asleep and was practically cuddling dream lmao _

_ Bad: did you get pictures _

_ Sapnap: who do you think i am _

_ Sapnap: [Attached: 10 photos] _

Sapnap smiled at his phone as he exited discord to pull up the number for the local pizza place, which he had saved in his contacts. Dream poked his head in a moment later, wondering what was taking him so long, but returned to the living room when he saw Sapnap speaking on the phone and ordering two large meatlovers pizza. 

After hanging up, Sapnap glanced at his notifications while returning to the living room, snickering to himself at the messages that he had missed. 

_ Bad: (❁´◡`❁)(❁´◡`❁)(❁´◡`❁)(❁´◡`❁) _

_ Skep: you really went through all the effort of cropping out dream’s face in ten different photos _

\---

Dream had picked a stupid action movie to watch while they ate, and soon enough Sapnap felt his eyelids drooping, though from exhaustion or boredom he wasn’t sure. Once the movie finally ended, he helped Dream clean up the mess of pizza boxes and shoved the leftovers in the fridge, before excusing himself to go to bed.

Dream seemed to pause for a moment at the idea of going to bed, and Sapnap looked at him in confusion. “What’s wrong?”

Dream laughed nervously. “Just annoyed that George gets the bed and I get the couch.”

Sapnap stared at him. “I was serious about you two sharing a bed.”

Dream shot him a look. “Sapnap-”

“No!” Sapnap cut him off. “There’s no reason why you can’t, and you both would enjoy it. He was cuddling you earlier and was trying to continue cuddling until he fell asleep.”

His voice didn’t have any of the usual teasing lilt that it normally had when he mentioned George to Dream, and Dream’s face started to flush again as he realized that his friend was completely serious.

“Sap-” He started again.

“Nope.” Sapnap said, grabbing Dream’s wrist and pulling him towards the guest room. “You’re going to both sleep in this bed together, and you are both going to have a wonderful night’s rest.”

Before Dream could continue to attempt to argue, Sapnap opened the door and pushed Dream in, closing it behind him.

Dream huffed as he stabilized himself, about to reopen the door when he heard a grumble come from behind him. He stopped, turning his head, and made eye contact with George, who barely seemed to be awake. Dream felt his heart swell with affection as he looked at the other male, drinking him in.

He felt glued to the spot, George’s sleepy eyes keeping him stuck in place, but he was finally broken out of it by a small noise coming from George’s throat. He moved closer to the bed, George’s eyes following him, and slipped into bed next to the other. George let out a pleased noise, curling back into Dream’s chest, falling asleep again almost immediately as warm arms were draped around his waist.

Dream was stuck. His nose was directly above George’s hair and he breathed in the comforting smell of George’s shampoo as he felt himself grow tired. He felt ashamed for wrapping his arms around George like this, knowing that the other only saw it as platonic, but he couldn’t make himself pull away from the smaller body in his arms, instead pulling him in closer. Making sure George was asleep, Dream sighed before planting a swift kiss onto George’s forehead, loving how George seemed to snuggle even deeper into Dream at the action.

Sapnap, on the other hand, had been waiting outside for Dream to leave the room after pushing him in, and was pleasantly surprised when the door remained closed. After a short time, he cracked the door open, and noticed the two bodies tangled together on the bed.

Step 2 was complete. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall can't stop me from adding in every single stupid fanfic trope into this one story


	5. slowly a sunkissed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream and George wake up and then are dragged out to Waffle House.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i love waffle house man  
> also people are like "haha yes put in every single trope" and unfortunately i don't think that's really going to be possible (how am i going to fit any of that sweet sweet enemies-to-lovers in a story where they're already friends??) but you wanna know what that means?????  
> it means i can write MORE CLICHE BULLSHIT AND NO ONE CAN STOP ME :D  
> i am going to try to fit as much cliche bs into this story as possible though because that's the entire point of this story lol  
> also idk if i'll be able to keep up daily updates but i'm going to try!!!
> 
> (each chapter title is from a love song, i think they make a nice playlist!)

George woke slowly the next morning, golden light hitting his eyes as he blinked slowly. He was surrounded by warmth, a pleasant pressure on his waist and back, and he was tempted to close his eyes and return back to sleep when he felt the warmth behind him shift and breathe on his neck.

Suddenly very awake, George stiffened as he remembered where he was. 

He twisted to look behind him, trying to move as much as possible without waking up the other person in bed with him, and was almost successful when Dream - oh fuck, that’s Dream - shuffled and pulled George closer. George felt his face turn bright red at the situation he was in, mind tripping over itself as it attempted to think of a way out of this. 

He looked at Dream’s face, squished against the pillows next to him, his light hair messed up and sticking up around him. His cheek was squished against the rest of his face, causing his mouth to open slightly. His eyelashes were long and light, and George felt himself reach up to trace Dream’s cheekbones as he watched the beautiful face in front of him sleep. 

Dream’s eyes fluttered open at the contact, slowly coming into focus as he stared into George’s eyes. Still affected by the fog of sleep, Dream just stared at the smaller boy, not fully convinced he was awake. George looked beautiful, eyes wide and face slightly flushed, and he was perfectly tucked in Dream’s arms, pulled against his chest. Dream blinked down, still tired, and pulled George closer, shifting an arm up George’s back. He closed his eyes as the new position allowed him to snuggle into George’s hair, breathing deeply as he felt himself drift back into sleep.

Suddenly the door was slammed open, causing both Dream and George to jump as Sapnap burst into the room. Dream quickly sat up, about to punch a bitch if needed, when he realized that the only bitch he needed to punch was his dear friend Sapnap.

He groaned, flopping back into the bed as he brought a hand up to rub at his face. The room around him was quiet, and he glanced up at George’s embarrassed and Sapnap’s confused expression before realizing what had happened moments before he had actually woken up.

His face burst into color, realizing that he had actually been cuddling George and staring at him, but also realizing that George had let him do it. 

He and George just stared at each other for a moment, both red-faced, confused, and embarrassed, when Sapnap broke the silence. 

“Okay…” He said, drawing the word out. “Well, good morning to you two. I made coffee but I was thinking of going to like… Waffle House or something.”

His eyes flickered between the two men in front of him, before suddenly Dream shot up and started rambling about how he loved Waffle House and that he would love to go eat there in the morning and if they would just let him get dressed real quick haha- and then he shut himself in the bathroom, silently screaming into his hands.

George and Sapnap made eye contact a moment later, Sapnap rolling his eyes as he left the room.

The moment he left, George flopped face first into the bed and tried to not scream at what had just happened. His face was still bright red, almost hurting from how warm it was, and it was very obvious that Dream had been uncomfortable with the entire situation once he realized what was happening. George brought his hands up over his head as he tried taking a deep breath, failing as his face was pressed against the bed and instead just getting the scent of Dream stuck in his nose. He pushed himself up from the bed after a moment, taking an actual deep breath in the fresh air, rubbed his face, and started heading towards the living room. He was still in his clothes from the day before, not having changed them before he fell asleep, but he didn’t want to risk changing in his and Dream’s shared room in case the other walked in. Instead he just pulled his sweatshirt from the day before off of his head, ran his fingers through his hair, and silently hoped that he looked somewhat decent. 

In the living room, Sapnap was reclining against the couch, scrolling through his phone. George stopped and glared at him.

Sapnap finally turned his phone off and sighed, making eye contact with the shorter man. 

“Can I help you, George?” He asked.

“Oh, I’m just concerned for you, because I thought that couch had bed bugs.” George spat out. Sapnap just snorted in response, aware that he was getting blamed for what had happened that morning. 

“Please, as if you didn’t get the best sleep of your life last night, all cuddled up with your Dreamie-poo-”

Sapnap laughed at the other as he dodged a pillow flying at his face.

“Shut up!” George hissed, face flushing again. “Dream was clearly uncomfortable this morning!”

Sapnap stared at the other, eyes unblinking as he realized how oblivious his friend was. 

He pinched his nose, sighing through it loudly before looking back at George.

“You both had a good night last night, Dream wasn’t uncomfortable because of the cuddling, your friendship is fine.” Sapnap rolled his eyes at the other’s expression. “Now,” He continued, ignoring George’s attempts to talk. “Do you have Waffle Houses in the UK?” 

\---

After Dream had peeled himself away from the bathroom and the other two got dressed, they had begun their walk to the Waffle House down the street, George complaining about the heat while the other two made fun of him. 

Sapnap had sent pictures that he had taken of the two cuddling in bed that morning to Bad again, and he was smiling down at his phone at the influx of happy emojis when they had finally arrived at the Waffle House.

George hesitated before walking inside, glancing around at the dingy lighting and slightly dirt encrusted tiles. The Waffle House was a small, rectangular room with booths cutting the room in half. One side of the room was a kitchen while the other was more seating. 

There was only one other person in the Waffle House when the three of them had arrived, an older man who seemed like a truck driver, sitting in the back corner drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. 

George felt like he had walked into a stereotypical movie about a small town, entering the diner with the sweet waitress with the southern accent who would serve them and-

“How can I help y’all?” A sweet voice said, breaking George out of his thoughts, trying not to choke on a laugh as a lady identical to the one he had pictured in his head appeared. He coughed a little, leaning on Dream while Sapnap got them menus and seats, and finally was able to say his drink order without coughing after being seated. 

Sapnap and Dream were both giving him weird looks, but George was too amused to mind.

“I feel like I’m in a small town movie.” He joked, eyes moving down the menu. He stared at all the options for a moment, suddenly overwhelmed with the bright colors and words printed onto the sheet. 

Dream snorted at his comment before looking over and realizing that he was confused on what to order.

“Do you want waffles, George?” he prompted. 

George’s eyes were wide as he flipped the menu over, eyes widening impossibly more as he realized that there was so much more food that he could get. “I have no idea what I want.”

Dream and Sapnap laughed at their friend’s confusion, before recommending their personal favorite items to George. 

Finally, the sweet voiced lady came back with their drinks and took their order. She twirled her hair around her finger as George spoke. “You aren’t from ‘round here, huh?” She asked, giggling slightly. 

George laughed quietly, handing her his menu. He gestured at Sapnap. “He’s the only one who actually lives nearby.” 

The lady shot him an almost blinding smile, getting their orders prepared before returning. 

“Well, tell me about y’all’s selves!” She smiled, leaning forward, eyes trained on George, who flushed slightly and chuckled awkwardly, eyes flickering to Dream and Sapnap for help. 

Sapnap started talking first, voice slipping into a slightly more southern drawl as he spoke to the woman. The woman kept returning her gaze to George, smiling and laughing at Sapnap. Her finger kept looping in her hair whenever her attention returned to George, but George paid her little extra attention. 

The woman was seemingly tired with the small talk not going anywhere and turned to George. “Well,” She said sweetly, “It seems like you have a wonderful guide here, but if you ever need anyone else to show you around, I can give you my number.”

George felt himself flush slightly at the abrupt comment as he finally realized why she was so interested in them. 

Dream had been on guard throughout the entire conversation, uneasy by the way the waitress kept looking at George, and only tensed more in his chair when he watched George’s face drop slightly, flush covering his cheeks. It would have been unnoticeable for anyone who wasn’t as close to George as Dream was, but he watched as George’s shoulders tensed slightly and something shifted in his eyes. 

“Oh... I… uh…” George stumbled over his words, looking to the other two for help.

Dream slung his arm around George, smiling at the waitress who blinked at him. 

“Sorry, but my boyfriend and I are probably going to stick with our friends.” 

The waitress blinked in what seemed to be surprise, before realization dawned in her eyes. She leaned away from George, smiling back at Dream. “That’s perfectly understandable. I hope the three of you have a wonderful time here in Texas.” 

She backed off a moment later, returning to her station near the door. George’s face had gone bright red, and even Sapnap was looking at Dream in shock, not expecting him to do that.

Dream finally slipped his arm off of George when the waitress had backed off, not fully realizing how the other boy had reacted until he glanced down at George’s bright red face.

“Oh shit- I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable, it just looked like you didn’t know what to say-” he began rambling.

George started rambling at the same time. “No, no, really it’s fine, I just wasn’t expecting it, I wasn’t uncomfortable just confused, nothing is wrong it was kinda nice-”

The two of them finally tapered off, faces bright red as they turned their faces away from each other. Sapnap just watched the entire conversation happen in front of him, staring without saying a word, absolutely confused on how his friends were  _ this fucking oblivious _ .

It was fine soon, though, as their food arriving had broken the awkward silence that had fallen over the table. The waitress was still respectful of George, even though she looked confused as her eyes flickered between Dream and George. Once she had finally walked away, Sapnap cleared his throat.

“Can you pass me the syrup, George?”

Almost instantly, everything returned back to normal. 

\---

The breakfast had passed by in a flurry of loud laughter, jokes, and a couple spoonfuls of grits being flung around.

Luckily, the three were able to leave before their food fight got big enough to annoy the other customer or any of the staff, but they were still laughing and pushing each other as they left the restaurant. 

The flirty waitress from earlier seemed to have been erased from their minds as they walked around the city, still joking around, but much more calm than they had been at the Waffle House. 

The day seemed to pass by quicker than normal, and before they knew it, the three of them were stumbling back into Sapnap’s apartment, George laughing his ass off as the other two argued over what they were going to have for dinner. 

“We had pizza last night, we can’t have it again-”

“George was asleep last night! And we have all those leftovers!”

“We can eat those for lunch later! Let’s get something different!”

George smiled fondly at the two as he plopped onto the couch, watching the other two fight. Suddenly, Sapnap’s head snapped to the side as he made puppy-dog eyes at George. 

“You’re on my side, right, George?” He asked, pouting slightly, causing George’s face to light up with laughter and joy.

Dream followed Sapnap’s eyes to the smaller boy, preparing to fight for George to be on his side, but his heart got stuck in his throat as he watched George laugh. His head was thrown back, eyes squeezed shut, and his shoulders had come to bunch around his ears as he shook.

Dream just stared as George continued to laugh, feeling paralyzed and breathless. 

George opened his eyes and mouth to joke with Sapnap, but Dream could barely hear what they were talking about, eyes trained on George’s. 

George was  _ beautiful _ . 

And Dream felt something in his chest crack slightly at the realization that George would never be his. 

“Dream?” Sapnap asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. 

“Yeah?” Dream asked, trying to force the small blush that he knew was growing on his face down.

“George agrees with me.” Sapnap said proudly. 

Dream let out a mock gasp of betrayal, turning to George. “Georgie?! How could you?!?” He almost yelled, falling to his knees and clutching at his heart.

So what if he was being more over dramatic than usual? So what if he got a teasing look from Sapnap as he stared at George? So what if he wouldn’t ever get to kiss the man in front of him?

The laughter that George sang out made everything okay, if only for a second.

\---

_ Bad: how has nothing happened yet _

_ Bad: literally everything you’re telling us is just them flirting 24/7 _

_ Bad: i’m getting so impatient _

_ Sapnap: youre getting impatient???? bro i have to deal with them doing it in front of me and then turning around and saying that theres no way it could ever happen _

_ Skep: f in chat for snapmap _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also hell yeah georgia turned blue


	6. won't you dance with

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Come on, we all knew someone was going to break eventually.  
> It's just surprising that this is how he broke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fight fight fight  
> sorry not sorry for not uploading yesterday i was taking the sat and then slept for 11 hours anyways here's this

As the days continued on, Sapnap had never felt more like a side character in his own home. 

The other two weren’t ignoring him- he wouldn’t have let them regardless if they wanted to or not- but he sat on the side, painfully aware that he wasn’t the main character in this romance story, and the main characters were refusing to do anything. The next step had been to corner them separately and try to knock some sense into their stupid heads, but unfortunately, Sapnap had yet to find a moment where one was without the other for longer than a bathroom break.

He had been trying to figure out ways to kick one of them out of his house politely for the past few days, half convinced that he would have to physically intervene in order to separate the two, but luckily, as he stumbled into his kitchen to make coffee one morning, he was met with a half asleep Dream holding a mug out for him.

Sapnap just raised an eyebrow as he took the mug, sipping at it thankfully.

“I didn’t add anything to that-” Dream said moments before Sapnap started choking on bitter coffee. “Dude, I don’t know how you make your coffee, why the hell would I have it premade for you?”

Sapnap scowled at his laughing friend, reaching behind Dream to get sugar and creamer for his coffee. After a moment of silence, filled only with the sounds of spoons clinking in mugs, Sapnap finally turned back to face his friend.

“So.” Sapnap said, making eye contact, question obvious in his eyes.

“So.” Dream responded, holding eye contact.

“George still asleep?”

“Yup.”

Sapnap nodded at the other, continuing to sip at his coffee. A moment of silence stretched between them, Dream clearly not wanting to say anything even as Sapnap tried to lull him into a conversation.

“So.” Sapnap began again. “You’re up early.”

Dream nodded, but said nothing.

Sapnap just stared at him. “Why?”

Dream shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Sapnap hummed, trying to get him to continue, but Dream just drank his coffee.

“Why?”

Dream finally shot him a look, downing the last of his coffee before putting his mug in the sink. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” He said dryly.

“Uh, yeah, that’s why I asked dude.”

They locked eyes for a couple of moments, Dream just glaring at Sapnap, before he sighed, rolled his eyes, and pushed himself off the table, walking towards the entrance to the kitchen.

“Wait, wait-” Sapnap pushed himself up as well, placing his mug down and grabbing Dream’s wrist. “I did not invite the two of you to Texas and force you to share a bed to sit here and watch you both deny everything for a week.”

Dream spun, glaring at Sapnap with more anger than before, a smile on his lips. “You’re right! You didn’t invite the two of us down here to watch us sit and deny things, because there’s nothing to fucking deny! The only one in denial here is you, refusing to give me and George any semblance of boundaries!”

Sapnap felt like he had gotten slapped. “Excuse me?” He started, voice dropping down to a hiss as he let go of Dream’s wrist. “You can’t seriously look me in the eyes and tell me that you feel nothing romantic towards George, because I’ve known you for long enough to see through that bullshit.”

“That’s not the problem, Sapnap!” Dream almost growled, struggling to keep his voice down so as to not wake up George. “The problem is you butting your head in places where you shouldn’t be in the first place! Everything was fine with me and George before you did this shit, and now we’re both uncomfortable!”

“Neither of you are uncomfortable-” Sapnap started, but was quickly cut off.

“I don’t give a fuck if I’m uncomfortable only because I do love George, that doesn’t mean that I’m not still fucking uncomfortable! And I don’t care what you think George is thinking, because at the end of the day, the fact of the matter is that we’re both still fucking uncomfortable and it’s all because of you. So yeah, I’m sorry for you shoving yourself in places and relationships that you don’t belong in, but all of this happened because of you.”

Dream had been backing away from Sapnap through his entire spiel, so by the time he had reached the end, he had reached the edge of the kitchen and was able to dramatically storm out of the room, leaving Sapnap’s sight.

A couple moments passed before he heard his front door open and then close, and only a few more moments passed before a very sleepy George stumbled into the kitchen, having woken up from the door slamming. 

“What the fuck Sapnap?” He questioned, yawning and rubbing at his eyes as the other smiled nervously at him. 

“Can we talk about something, George?” 

\---

Dream had been walking for quite some time when he felt himself slowly start to calm down.

Okay, so maybe yelling at his friend while he was just trying to help them wasn’t a good idea, but it wasn’t like he didn’t have a valid reason to be angry! Right?

Everything was going fine before Sapnap tried to butt his head into things, and while Dream knew he was only doing this out of kindness and love for his friends, it wasn’t working out the way that any of them wanted it to and why couldn’t Sapnap just realize that it would be better to  _ just drop the whole thing _ ?

Although he knew it was dramatic, he was glad that he had left the house when he had. Dream had always had issues with expressing his anger, and his best way of dealing with it was just removing himself from the situation for a little bit. He had done it a couple times on his streams when he got really mad, but he hadn’t needed to leave a building like he had done in a long time.

He realized with a small pang of guilt that Sapnap and George didn’t know about this habit of his. His family knew about this pattern of his, and whenever Dream had gotten angry around them he would simply leave the room and his family would give him space until he was ready. Sapnap and George, though, didn’t know about this.

The pang of guilt was tinted with a dark satisfaction that Sapnap deserved to feel uncomfortable and worried about him being gone, but his empathetic side quickly overruled in favor of returning back to Sapnap’s house and properly apologizing. 

He stopped, looked around him, and realized that he had no idea where he was. He quickly pulled out his phone, and noticed that he had been walking for roughly 20 minutes, lost in his own thoughts, not paying any attention to where he was going.

_ Fair enough, karma. _ He thought to himself as he began to retrace his steps.

_ Fair enough. _

\---

Dream opened the door to Sapnap’s apartment slowly, noticing how quiet it was inside of the apartment. He walked in, glancing in the kitchen and seeing George and Sapnap huddled around the table, George looking like he was moments away from running. 

There was a deep blush on George’s face as Sapnap spoke to him in hushed tones, talking fast.

George’s eyes flickered up towards where Dream was standing, finally noticing the taller standing there.

His hand slapped out and hit Sapnap in the face, causing him to whine in annoyance before following George’s gaze to Dream, falling silent.

The three boys sat, staring at each other, George and Sapnap looking like they had just gotten caught doing something they shouldn’t be doing.

“Uh…” Dream started.

“Where the fuck were you?” George asked, nose wrinkling in confusion as he looked at Sapnap.

Dream just stared at the smaller boy, making eye contact with Sapnap who shook his head as if to say  _ No, I didn’t tell him _ .

“I went on a walk.”

Sapnap raised an eyebrow, glancing at the time. “You were gone for a while.” 

Dream shuffled his feet slightly, the entire atmosphere awkward. He had texted Sapnap earlier, telling him that he was safe and on his way back, but that was almost 20 minutes earlier.

“I, uh…” He stuttered, looking at his feet, “I got lost.”

His eyes reconnected with Sapnap’s, guilt obvious in them. He didn’t particularly want to talk about the argument in front of George, especially considering that he was a main part of the argument, but he was trying his best to let his best friend know that he was sorry.

Sapnap smirked, and relief flooded Dream’s chest. “Obviously, you don’t live here.” He rolled his eyes as he stood up. He bumped shoulders with Dream as he pushed past him to pour himself another mug full of coffee. 

Dream snorted as he moved to sit down at the table next to George, whose eyes were still flickering between the other two. 

“The real question is: what the fuck were you two talking about before I came in?”

George turned bright red instantly, shooting a look at Sapnap who had just snorted.

“Nothing much, just trying to decide what we were going to get for breakfast.” Sapnap said smoothly, rolling his eyes at the obvious disbelief on Dream’s face. He turned, leaning against his counter to look at the other two as he drank from his mug. 

“I’ve been thinking-” He started, before being interrupted by George.

“Don’t hurt yourself.”

Sapnap just glared at the smaller before continuing. “I’ve been thinking. We’ve been spending a lot of time inside, only really going out for food - which makes sense, considering we’re in the middle of a global pandemic and we really should be socially isolating ourselves-” He glanced between Dream and George’s narrowed eyes, seemingly tired of his rambling, “But hear me out!”

He paused for dramatic effect. 

“Hear me out.” 

George and Dream waited for him to continue and explain what he was thinking, but Sapnap just finished his coffee and placed his mug in the sink.

The silence stretched on for a moment too long, Dream and George making brief eye contact before George sighed. 

“Hear you out with what?”

Sapnap blinked at them. “Oh, I’m not going to tell you guys what we’re doing. I’m just going to take you there. The ‘hear me out’ was really more just for the effect.”

Sapnap clapped his hands together, a sly smile growing on his face as he looked at his two annoyed friends.

“So, for breakfast, I was thinking maybe IHOP!”

\---

_ Sapnap: guys, im not so sure about this plan anymore _

_ Bad: what? why?? _

_ Sapnap: idk dream seems kinda uncomfortable with all of it _

_ Sapnap: said i was shoving myself somewhere i shouldn’t be _

_ Skep: i mean. maybe. _

_ Bad: skeppy!! _

_ Skep: but imagine how funny this story will be at their wedding _

_ Skep: so with that in mind, whats the plan for today? _

_ Sapnap: oh, just you wait skeppy. _

_ Sapnap: just you wait. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whenever i reread my own fanfiction i have to remind myself that it's not as boring to other people as it is to me because yall usually aren't reading it for the tenth time in a row


	7. i can't focus on what

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go to a garden and absolutely nothing else happens. Nothing else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is inspired by LilacRS who commented something that basically boiled down to "how are you going to fit the classic cherry blossom tree into this story" and i took it as a challenge  
> anyways....... you guys are not ready for this chapter. i'm not ready for this chapter and i wrote it.  
> just. Prepare.

“Is this a fucking garden?” 

Sapnap grinned at his two friends, arms open wide as they arrived at what he had planned for the day.

“It’s a botanical garden and arboretum!” He said with a smile.

“What the fuck is an arboretum?” George asked, eyebrows furrowed at the youngest. 

“It’s a tree garden.” 

Dream and George just continued staring at Sapnap, confused on why they were there.

Finally, Sapnap let out a huff, arms dropping. “Look.” He started, not making eye contact. “I’ve wanted to go here for a while, but it’s not exactly something that you just go to alone, and I figured it would be a fun touristy thing for you guys.” 

He looked back at them. “If you guys don’t want to do it, we can leave right now and go back to my apartment or find something else to do.” 

The serious tone in Sapnap’s voice made the other two hesitate, glancing at each other before Dream sighed, hand reaching for his wallet as he walked towards the entrance. 

“How much is it?”

“What - no! I’m paying, you’re my guests!”

“Nope. What ticket do you want?”

After a short argument over who would be paying for the tickets - George had managed to sneak around his two arguing friends and buy the tickets before the other two could realize - the three friends were finally standing in the middle of a giant flower garden.

Sapnap had a giant smile on his face - he hadn’t been lying when he said he wanted to go, even if he had only heard about it when googling good places for dates in the area. 

Despite their hesitations previously, Dream and George were also having a great time. Dream had made it his mission to make George’s face as red as possible under his mask, and was continuously picking and handing him flowers just to watch him blush, pointedly ignoring the looks he was getting from Sapnap. 

The teasing between George and Dream was seemingly one-sided, as usual, with Dream trying to one-up himself and George trying to act like nothing was bothering him, but then the group turned a corner and came across a field of sunflowers.

“It’s beautiful.” George breathed out.

“It is.” Dream was staring at George. 

Sapnap gagged. 

“Sunflowers remind me of you, Dream.” George said casually, voice fond, hand reaching out to touch one. Dream physically had to keep himself from choking on his own spit, stumbling and reaching out to grab Sapnap’s shoulder as his face went neon red. 

“What.” Dream’s voice was surprisingly steady, and George continued to look at the sunflowers. 

“Yeah. Big, bright, sunny… and they’re yellow. You’re yellow.” 

If the scene in front of him wasn’t so painfully fond, Sapnap would’ve been on the ground laughing at the absolute shock on Dream’s face. His hand was digging into Sapnap’s shoulder, and his widened eyes were focused only on George. 

He must have been silent for a moment too long, as George turned to glance back at his expression, eyes widening as he, too, realized what he had said and how fond his voice was.

“Like piss!” He loudly corrected himself, now redder than he had been the entire day. “You’re yellow, like piss! Piss vision, remember???”

Dream and George just continued looking at each other, both tense, both bright red, and both so,  _ so stupid. _

Sapnap broke, hands balancing on his knees as he laughed hard enough to almost knock himself over. 

His laughter seemed to break the other two out of whatever trance they were in, and they both scowled at him as he actually collapsed onto the concrete path they were on. 

“Sapnap-” George hissed as Dream reached down and yanked Sapnap up, holding him as he threatened to fall down once more. 

When he finally calmed himself down to listen to his two friends (which took almost five minutes, since he kept looking back up at them and dying again), they had mostly calmed down their blushing faces and were glaring at him, George apologizing to the few people who needed to pass them. 

Sapnap just stared at them for a few moments, eyes glowing, smile large on his face, but after what felt like an eternity to the other two, he spun around and continued walking down the path, leaving Dream and George to splutter after him.

“I’m just going to assume that neither of you particularly want to talk about whatever the hell just happened, so we’re just going to move on. We’re almost to the arboretum!”

He was correct, of course, that neither of the two wanted to talk about what had happened, and so they willingly followed him deeper into the garden.

\---

They had reached the arboretum a few minutes later, and were coming across the part that Sapnap had been most excited about. 

Treehouses. 

The arboretum boasted on their website about their tree houses and bridges that connected them, showing pictures of people sitting in trees and climbing up them. There were areas to eat in the trees, and small places to buy food were scattered along the ground. 

The part that Sapnap was most excited for, and the whole reason he had dragged his friends out to a botanical garden in the first place (though, he wasn’t sure if anything could top the incident with the sunflowers) was coming up soon.

Cherry blossoms. 

He knew the cherry blossoms weren’t going to be blooming, since the flowers only bloom for a couple days a year and it wasn’t even close to their normal blooming times. 

That didn’t matter, the cherry blossoms were symbolic, anyways, and the main point of coming here was to get Dream and George high up in a cherry blossom tree, alone and hopefully kissing.

“What is that up there?” Dream asked, pointing up and squinting at something hidden in the trees.

“A treehouse.” 

“A what.” George stopped, looking at Sapnap, suddenly interested. Sapnap had to suppress a smile, though he supposed it didn’t really matter with his mask.

“It’s a treehouse! There’s a lot of them, and they’re connected by bridges. You have to climb a tree to get up to them, though.” 

George’s eyes were slowly lighting up more with every word that came from Sapnap’s mouth, and the moment he finished, George had taken off towards the nearest tree, trying to figure out how to climb it. 

Sapnap looked at Dream, who had stayed behind with him, raising an eyebrow. 

Dream rolled his eyes. “Not the biggest fan of heights,” he reminded Sapnap. “Not sure how much tree climbing I’ll be doing.”

Sapnap nodded, humming. “There’s a staircase up to one of the tree houses, if you would prefer that.” 

Dream blinked. “You said the only way up was to climb a tree, though.”

Sapnap’s grin broke through as he began walking into the trees, passing by George who was halfway up a tree already. “I never said  _ how  _ to climb the tree.”

“Hey!” George’s voice called out to them, head sticking out over a branch to try and make eye contact with Sapnap. “Where you guys going?” 

“We’re trying to find a less steep way up, Dream doesn’t like heights!” Sapnap called back, watching George’s face fall slightly. 

“Lame. I’ll meet you up here, then.” George ducked back into the trees, Sapnap snorting to himself as he could hear quiet mutterings of ‘ _ doesn’t make any sense, a less steep way up when you’re climbing trees doesn’t exist’ _ as he and Dream walked away. 

Only a few minutes had passed by the time George pulled himself up onto a treehouse, noticing a larger treehouse further in, with multiple bridges connecting to it. He figured that was the central treehouse, and figured it would be the best place to wait for his friends, so he started walking along the rickety bridges, humming to himself. 

He made it to the big treehouse in a couple of seconds, walking inside and preparing to get comfortable while he waited for his friends, only to stop in shock when he walked into Dream and Sapnap sitting on the floor with containers of food and masks around their chins.

“Oh, you’re here!” Dream grinned at him, gesturing for him to come over.

“How the hell did you get up here so fast?” George asked, ignoring the pull of his heart towards Dream’s smile, stubbornly staying in place.

Sapnap smiled at him, eyes twinkling. 

“Turns out there’s a staircase directly up here!” George followed Sapnap’s gesturing towards a staircase on the other side of the treehouse, a much easier thing to climb than George’s tree had been.

“What happened to having to climb a tree?” George grumbled as he sat down next to Dream, poking at the food. “What did you guys get?”

Sapnap chuckled nervously, rubbing his neck. “We didn’t get you anything, we didn’t know what you would want, but I can go get something for you now.”

Normally George would shake his head and get himself his food, but he was tired from climbing a tree, and Sapnap was the reason he had climbed the tree in the first place, so he just nodded and told Sapnap what he wanted. Sapnap nodded back at George, eyes squinting slightly as he pulled his mask back up and memorized George’s order. 

“Okay, I’ll be back in a little bit, and Dream-” Sapnap made eye contact with Dream. “Think about what I said.”

Dream blushed, turning slightly red, rolling his eyes as Sapnap made his way down the staircase. George had plopped himself down on the wall next to Dream, and he allowed his head to fall on Dream’s shoulder as he examined the room around him, not noticing how Dream tensed and relaxed under him. 

The treehouse was surprisingly clean for being outdoors, and the walls were covered with carvings of flowers painted pink, surrounding the two of them in blossoms. 

“Lots of flowers.” George mumbled, eyes tracing some of the carvings. 

Dream coughed slightly, blushing as George looked at him. “Yeah, Sapnap said something about how we’re in cherry blossom trees and the carvings are there to be like the flowers even when it’s not blooming season.”

George hummed, relaxing more against Dream. He was actually pretty tired from climbing the tree and walking around all day, and he let his eyes flutter close as he snuggled more into Dream. 

“He also mentioned something about it being a pretty romantic place, apparently a lot of people get engaged up here.” Dream let out a slightly nervous laugh. George’s eyes flickered open as he turned his head to make eye contact with Dream, faces much closer than he originally thought, but neither pulled away. 

“Romantic, huh?” George murmured, feeling like he could break the strange atmosphere that had surrounded the two of them if he spoke too loud.

From this close, he could see the different stripes of color in Dream’s eyes, how they were darker around the outside and bright around the pupil. He had light eyelashes, a similar color to his hair, and George watched them flutter as Dream blinked. His eyes glanced down across Dream’s cheeks and nose, drawing constellations in the multitude of freckles that dotted his face. His eyes continued down, finally landing on pink lips. He had never allowed himself to stare this intently at Dream before, and now that he was, his eyes traveled over the ridges in Dream’s lips and the slightly chapped skin, finally allowing himself to just feel how much he wanted to kiss him. His eyes flickered back up towards Dream’s, and he watched as Dream’s eyes also flickered up from where he had been staring at his own lips. 

George felt himself leaning in impossibly closer, feeling warm breath ghost over his lips as he continued to look into Dream’s eyes. 

“George?” Dream whispered, breathless. 

“Mm?” George just hummed back, not trusting his voice.

“George, I really-”

Dream’s phone started ringing.

The two immediately jumped away from each other, whatever spell they had been under broken, and Dream scrambled to get his phone. 

“It-it’s my mom, I should probably take this, haha-” Dream scurried out of the treehouse, bumping past Sapnap (who looked extremely disappointed at something) and answering his phone, face still bright red. 

Sapnap stepped fully into the treehouse, eyes landing on the smaller boy who was still sitting on the floor, eyes wide with emotion and face red. Sapnap’s gaze softened instantly as he looked at him, dropping down and wrapping an arm around the emotional brit. 

“Oh, Georgie…” He cooed, pulling George into his embrace as George’s hands came to cover his face, mumbling softly to himself.

_ “What the  _ fuck _ was that?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> petition to kill dream's mom? lol jk we love her she just had some very unfortunate timing.  
> also very unfortunate that i already used my "yellow" and "sun" themed chapter titles for other chapters because although the titles don't necessarily correlate super strongly to what's happening in the chapter i feel like there's very strong yellow vibes in this chapter  
> also the botanical garden/arboretum mentioned in this chapter is based completely off of my imagination and also that one scene in ATLA with Jet and all the people living in trees


	8. cause i've swallowed the

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Absolutely nothing happened last chapter and they have to deal with the after effects.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaaaaaaaaaaa the story is coming to a close and honestly that's one of the reasons why this took so long because i keep trying to stretch it out in my head but it's just not working  
> i can write more fics in the future though so it's not all that bad :)  
> sorry for taking super long, and everyone who has commented that they check this fic often for updates?????  
> i love you and i will kill for you

The rest of the trip was awkward. The ride back to Sapnap’s apartment was awkward. Dinner was awkward. Sitting on the couch in his own damn apartment was awkward.

Sapnap was tired of it. 

He stood up suddenly, startling the other two away from their own thoughts, and spun around to look at them.

“I am going to take a shower.” He said, monotone, eyes flickering between the two. “While I am showering,” he continued, “you two are going to be able to talk, in private, about whatever the hell the two of you want to talk about, okay?”

His eyes narrowed as Dream and George’s faces turned slightly pink, looking away from him.

“Okay?” He said again, emphasizing each syllable. The other two nodded at him, and he huffed out in annoyance as he walked away to his bathroom, hoping that the warm water would calm him down, and hoping even more so that everything would be okay by the time he left the shower. 

Unfortunately for him, the other two stil sitting on his couch had both unknowingly decided not to talk about what had happened earlier that day unless the other had brought it up. 

Idiots.

George and Dream continued to look away from each other until they heard the bathroom door close and the shower start, when they both glanced at each other, making eye contact before ripping their eyes apart. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife, a sharp word, or even just a look, and so the two desperately kept their eyes away from each other.

The silence stretched on for a moment, and then another, and another, until it was so awkward that one of them had to break.

It was Dream who spoke first.

“Uh- my, uh, my mom said hi, by the way.” His eyes stayed locked on a scratch on the wall, finding it extraordinarily interesting. 

“Your mom?” George asked, eyes flickering to Dream before returning to his preferred spot on the wall. 

Dream let out a slightly embarrassed chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah, when she called earlier, I mentioned you, and she told me to say hi for her.”

George chuckled slightly, eyes drifting and staying on Dream’s face. “Aw, you talk to your mom about me?” He asked, voice teasing and hesitant at the same time. 

Dream’s eyes shot towards George’s, making eye contact as a hesitant smile grew on his face, mirroring George.

“Oh, come now, of course I talk to my mom about you-” George interrupted him with a snort, “I’m in a different state with someone I’ve never met in person before, she wanted to make sure I hadn’t been murdered by you.” 

The two had seemed to lean towards each other as they spoke, shifting towards the center of the couch, but despite the smiles on their faces, something seemed to shift slightly in George’s face, almost a realization, of sorts. 

He glanced away, smile dropping slightly, before looking back at Dream. “I… I don’t want things to be awkward between us.”

Dream blinked in surprise, face blank, before smiling at George. “Of course.” He said, opening his arms for a hug. “C’mere.”

George hesitated for a moment before pushing forward and wrapping his arms around the taller.

Both hugged the other closer, eyes closed as they imagined what could have happened if their lips had touched earlier, but…

But nothing. They relaxed into warm arms.

The awkward atmosphere was replaced with longing once again. 

When Sapnap finally left the shower, spending more time in the bathroom than normal in hopes that the other two would finally work their shit out, he walked past his living room to see the other two laughing and bantering as they were before the arboretum, causing him to smile, even as his brain commented on the space between them. 

Things weren’t finished, but at least they had calmed down slightly. 

\---

The next morning was as normal as it could be, with all three of the boys laughing over stupid jokes while they ate breakfast and trying to plan out their final days. 

The tension that had been thick in the house the days prior seemed to dissipate overnight, but despite the new calm that had settled in the walls, Sapnap knew that it wasn’t over.

He could see the longing looks they would give to the other when not paying attention, and he could see the lingering touches and smiles. He could see the two dancing around each other, both being more affectionate and yet more hesitant, as if they were treading the line of what the other was comfortable with, unaware that both wanted more.

Sapnap’s plan had honestly fallen through mostly, he realized, and although his two friends seemed more comfortable around each other than they had at the beginning of the trip, they seemed identical to how they acted before the trip, when they could only hear each other through headphones and speakers.

Sapnap had managed to somehow knock some form of thought into George though, and sometimes would catch George looking at Dream with a strange look on his face, blank of the usual longing but just as intense. Dream, on the other hand, refused to give Sapnap’s words any form of thought, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge George’s glances.

(When Sapnap pushed, asking why Dream consistently refused to even think about what Sapnap was saying, why he refused to even humor the thought that maybe a relationship between him and George was possible, Dream just sighed. 

“The hope is the worst part,” He said.

Sapnap let it go after that.)

Unfortunately, George refused to say anything to Sapnap about Dream, meeting Sapnap’s teasing eyes with cold glares. He only had a few more days left with his best friends, and so Sapnap was being faced with the difficult decision of focusing on getting his friends together, or focusing on having fun with his two best friends before they left indefinitely.

George kept searching, Dream kept ignoring, and Sapnap kept watching, helpless.

\---

“Did you mean what you said?”

Sapnap jumped, almost dropping the cup in his hands. It was 2 AM and he had gotten up to get some water when he heard someone speak from behind him, voice hushed but intense.

“Jesus, George, you can’t just sneak up on someone like that!” Sapnap caught his breath as he stared at his smaller friend who was leaning against the wall, hidden in shadow.

He had a strange expression on his face, eyes narrowed and lips pressed together.

“Did you mean what you said?” He repeated.

Sapnap’s tired brain took a moment to catch up, looking at George in confusion before brightening. “Oh! You mean-”

“Hush!” George whispered, eyes flickering to the door of the guest room, where Dream was sleeping. “Dream’s a light sleeper. Don’t wake him up.” George slowly turned back to Sapnap, making eye contact for a brief moment before blushing and looking away. “And yes.”

Sapnap smiled at his friend. Despite the narrowed eyes and pursed lips, Sapnap could clearly see the insecurity tracing his friend’s frame, and he softened instantly. 

“Of course I did, George.”

George took a deep breath, and returned to the guest room. 

\---

_Bad: hey sapnap, we’re recording today_

_Bad: you should join_

_Sapnap: im a bit busy bad_

_Bad: let me rephrase that_

_Bad: hey sapnap, you’re recording with us today_

\---

George turned his phone off and curled into Dream’s side. 

He would have to thank Bad again in the morning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> follow my instagram @paper.ringss  
> it's new but i'm going to post fanart and fanfic related things on there (dt and sbi mostly)  
> so if you want more updates abt this story then give it a looksie :)
> 
> also this chapter is shorter than normal but it's necessary for lining things up


End file.
